Topping the rogues’ gallery was Wallingford’s notorious 45th Street
corridor, which carries an average of 23,700 cars a day.

“Last month, I said, ‘You find ‘em, we’ll fix ‘em,’ and
we are going to start right here,” Nickels said. “Later this summer,
we are going to repave this stretch of road. That’s one down and 11 to
go.”

In June, the mayor asked people to nominate their choice for the worst transportation
headaches in the city. More than 700 people submitted their pick of streets,
sidewalks, bike trails and signals they wanted to see repaired.

The mayor worked with the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) to select
the projects on the “Dirty Dozen” list. In addition to 45th Street,
the city will fix the following trouble spots around the city:

Signal Retiming:
• 12th Avenue South (between East Yesler Way and South Weller Street)
• North 46th Street (west of Aurora Avenue North)

Improving Bike Trails and Cyclist Safety
• Dexter Avenue North will be re-striped to make it safer for cyclists.
• Chief Sealth Trail improvements
• New signal at North 145th Street and Linden Avenue North

Sidewalks
• Building sidewalks 30th Avenue Northeast

Some of these projects will be completed this year. The remainder will be
in the mayor’s 2007 budget proposal. All of them will be scheduled for
completion over the next year.

More than 100 potholes were also included among the “Dirty Dozen” nominations.
All of them have been repaired.

The “Dirty Dozen” represent just a small portion of the city’s
transportation backlog. Currently, one-third of Seattle's bridges need major
repair or replacement, and two-thirds of Seattle’s primary streets are
past their intended life. Furthermore, one-third of city sidewalks are in poor
condition, and most of the city's 586 retaining walls are in desperate need
of replacement or repair.

“This list is just the beginning,” Nickels said. “We have
under-invested in our transportation system for decades, and the results are
all too apparent. It’s time we take care of the problem and get our roads
working again.”

On May 22, Mayor Nickels unveiled a 20-year plan to eliminate Seattle’s
$500 million transportation maintenance backlog and make investments in major
transportation projects, such as fixing the Mercer Mess. The plan addresses
mounting problems spanning the past 35 years resulting from declining transportation
investments and deferred maintenance. Because of court decisions, citizen initiatives,
and the state's funding formula, dedicated transportation revenue has fallen
66 percent in the last ten years -- from $37.5 million in 1995 to $11.8 million
in 2005.

The mayor’s plan is before the City Council for review and consideration
for placement on the fall ballot.